Contractor insurance
questions

Start with what could happen in your business. General liability addresses covered injury or property damage claims from customers and others. Workers’ compensation addresses employee work injuries. Commercial auto covers business vehicle risks, while tools coverage protects specified equipment. A license bond meets a separate licensing obligation. Your work, employees and contracts determine which policies and limits you need. We can help you connect each requirement to the risk it addresses.

Yes. Additional insured status gives a customer specified protection under your policy for claims connected to your work. They may want that protection while the job is underway and after it is finished. Send the insurance section of the contract so we can check the endorsements, meaning documents that change your policy, before preparing the certificate that summarizes the coverage.

The cost of correcting your own defective work is generally excluded, while resulting damage to other property can be covered. For example, replacing a faulty plumbing connection and repairing the customer’s water-damaged floor are different costs. We can explain how your policy treats each and how completed operations coverage applies to losses involving finished work.

Your insurance still needs to describe that arrangement. A customer can bring a claim against you over work performed by a subcontractor. Some policies require you to use written agreements and obtain particular insurance documents from those businesses. Tell us which trades you subcontract and what your own employees do, so we can explain the requirements that apply before the job starts.

Yes. Start with the renewal proposal and estimated payroll for each type of work. Loss runs are reports from previous insurers showing claims and payments; we can explain how to request them. If your business has an experience modification, it is a rating factor based on loss experience. Using the same duties, payroll and owner coverage for each quote makes differences in cost easier to understand.

Yes. Quick Biz Quote Insurance Services reviews coverage for California contractors statewide. Tell us where your employees work, where vehicles are parked overnight and whether you take jobs outside California. That information helps us check the territory and state requirements of the policies being considered.

A per-occurrence limit is the most available for one covered event. An aggregate is the total available for claims counting against it during the applicable policy period. If a $2 million aggregate has already paid $1.5 million, only $500,000 remains in that aggregate. A $1 million per-occurrence limit would not restore the used amount. Different parts of a policy can have separate aggregates.

Ongoing operations means work in progress, such as an installation while your crew is still on site. Completed operations concerns injury or damage arising from finished work, such as a connection that later leaks and damages a floor. A customer may request additional insured protection for both because they could be named in a claim during or after the job. Those protections may require different endorsements.

An exclusion describes something the policy leaves out, such as a particular type of work or cause of loss. An endorsement is a document that changes the policy. It can add coverage, name an additional insured or restrict coverage. That is why two quotes with the same dollar limit can protect different things.

A quote request starts the review of your needs. We use the information to request available terms and explain the proposal. If you choose an option, any required application, acceptance and payment steps must be completed, and the effective date confirmed. Submitting the website form alone does not start, change or cancel insurance.

Yes. Send the insurance section and any required endorsement forms with the project description. We can explain the requested coverage, compare it with your policies and identify changes requiring insurer approval or additional cost. Your attorney should advise on the contract’s legal obligations, including promises to reimburse or defend another party.

They serve different purposes. A license bond backs obligations under contractor licensing rules and protects specified beneficiaries. A surety may seek repayment from you after paying a valid claim. General liability addresses covered injury and property damage claims against your business. Contractors can need both, and a bond amount is not the premium charged to buy it.

Begin with your current policies and the renewal date. Then update expected sales, payroll, vehicles, equipment and the kinds of jobs you plan to accept. Send new customer insurance requirements and tell us about claims or concerns with the current coverage. If loss runs are needed, those are claim-history reports from your previous insurers, and we can explain how to request them.